What is it?

This is a very important time for Polestar. The performance luxury-orientated spin-off brand from Volvo has so far had just one model, the Polestar 2, which it’s done quite well with, selling 30,000 of them so far.

Now, however, Polestar has become a family, with three members thanks to the simultaneous launch of the perhaps predictably named Polestar 3 and Polestar 4. The 5 will be with us next year, the 6 will follow not long after.

The 4 is Polestar’s fastest car yet, a coupe SUV which has already ‘gone viral’ due to the much publicised fact that it has no rear window, but a digital rear-view mirror instead. That review we will bring you at the end of the month. Before that we have the Polestar 3, at 4.9 metres long with a 2.9-metre wheelbase an imposing SUV sister to the already available 2.

The Polestar 3 has evolved from the Precept concept, first seen in 2020 and a design that will shape other forthcoming Polestar product such as the 5. And the 3 certainly follows the brand ethos; this is a luxury electric performance SUV designed to carry five adults and looking like – well this certainly does not have the proportions of a typical SUV.

Built on the same platform that underpins the new EX90 of sister brand Volvo, the Polestar 3 has a low roofline and equally low bonnet, giving it seriously purposeful proportions and setting it apart from the current wave of electric SUVs.

It also has the potency the visuals promise – the initial dual-motor version offers the equivalent of 490hp while the optional performance pack boosts this to 510hp, cutting the 0-62mph time from 4.9 to 4.5 seconds.

There will eventually be three versions – an entry level single-motor model at prices from £69,900, the dual motor costing from £75,900, and the latter with the extra power-inducing Performance Pack at £81,500.

All have ‘long-range’ battery packs as standard, which effectively means a WLTP-certified range of 390 miles in standard form, 348 with the Performance Pack. Even in real-world terms these cars will go far enough between charges for most owners, and they come with a charging capacity of up to 290kW, meaning very rapid replenishment – a heat pump is standard too improving the efficiency of the battery particularly in more extreme temperatures.

Polestar describes as core values its avant garde design, its commitment to sustainability, and its technology. This certainly shows in the 3 which is a seriously digital car – according to its makers the most technological Polestar yet.

The front cabin is dominated by the vertical-format touchscreen that anyone who has driven a recent Volvo will new familiar with, and it controls virtually all of the car’s functions – buttons are significantly absent in this minimalist interior.

The technology very much extends to the safety systems, again as one would expect with a brand associated with Volvo. The various wide-ranging driver-assistance features are made possible by a total of five radar modules, five external cameras and 12 ultrasonic sensors on every car.

All of the car’s electronics, including the safety systems, can also be continually updated over the air, reacting to technology advances or any issues, without any need to take one’s car to a dealer. The 3 hasn’t been Euro-NCAP crash-tested yet but is widely expected to rack up a similar high five-star rating to its 2 sister car.

What do we think of it?

Describing the Polestar 3 as an SUV to any onlooker will likely elicit a double-take at the very least – it looks far too low and purposeful to be rated alongside the typical examples of this so competitive sector. Certainly the car offers distinctive visuals – perhaps not quite as instantly image-forming as the Polestar 2 but certainly apart from the norm.

Once inside the initial impression is of the quality construction – the surfaces all feel upmarket to the touch, formed into the clean, smooth lines that have instantly become a Polestar trait, aided significantly by the lack of physical buttons. Digital touch controls fulfil virtually all the required functions, and they all live on the 14.5-inch vertical-format central touchscreen. Initially the amount of work this screen does and the number of options one is presented with is quite daunting, but it quickly becomes familiar with use.

With such a low roofline one would expect headroom in particular to be a little too cosy for those traveling in the rear, but surprisingly there is plenty to spare, and lots of legroom too. The boot is plenty big enough too, and very easy to load.

One element the low proportions do add, however, is an almost letterbox-like back window and as a result somewhat limited vision through the rear-view mirror. Perhaps this car should gain the digital rear-view system we’ll soon be talking about in the Polestar 4…

Close to £76,000 may seem a hefty price to pay for any car but when compared to its upmarket rivals the Polestar 3 very much holds its own, especially when one studies the standard equipment list. It’s very long, topped by some 22 driving assistance systems, and including such desirables as heated seats in front and rear, wireless charging, a head-up display, panoramic glass roof… The list goes on.

Our ‘Launch Edition’ test cars also included the extra Plus and Pilot packs. The first adds primarily a very upmarket Bowers & Wilkins hi-fi, the second various semi-autonomous functions including automatic lane changing, parking and maintaining the car’s road position by automated speed and steering adjustments.

A performance SUV? Very much so – the car driven by Business Motoring on the launch event had twin motors but not the Performance Pack, and it didn’t need it. This is a car that exhibits the very highest standards of the smooth and refined progress one expects from electric vehicles, and will also dial up its power very quickly indeed when required – dispatching slower-moving traffic ahead is a matter of mere moments…

Seasoned EV drivers will know the traits of ‘one-pedal driving’ – employing battery regeneration to slow the car and making very little use of the actual brake pedal. The Polestar actually has a specific one-pedal driving button, which is effective, though the three levels of regeneration can only be changed through the touchscreen – we’d prefer to see steering wheel controls so the effect can be varied for example when descending steep hills.

Every Polestar 3 has air suspension and other sports-car like traits such as a perfect 50:50 weight distribution. So it’s no surprise that it both rides in comfort, even on less that perfect road surfaces, and handles very well – factor in all that power too and you have a car that is a great deal of fun to drive.

A fun-to-drive SUV? Well this is no normal SUV…